The Energy Blog

EPRI Analysis Finds Utility Based Energy Efficiency Programs Could Cut Energy Consumption 7-11 %

Energy efficiency improvements in the U.S. electric power sector could reduce electric consumption by 7 to 11 percent more than currently projected over the next two decades if key barriers can be addressed, according to a preliminary analysis of potential energy savings released recently by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) during an Edison Foundation conference which examined strategies to meet the growing demand for electricity which is expected to soar 30 percent by 2030, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“This study demonstrates the potential of energy efficiency to offset some of the projected need for new electric generation as cutting-edge technologies become available and are adopted. We think a 7-percent efficiency improvement is realistic – and gains of 11 percent or more are technologically feasible – depending on the degree to which various obstacles can be overcome.”

-- Dr. Michael Howard, senior vice president at EPRI

That demand growth projection would be even higher without the implementation of existing building codes, appliance standards and market-driven consumer incentives, which will shave electricity consumption by 23 percent, according to the EPRI-EEI study. However, additional efficiency gains could be achieved only by overcoming major market, regulatory and consumer barriers, the analysis found.  . . .

Essential steps include increased consumer education; adoption and enforcement of aggressive building codes and appliance standards; creation of utility business models that promote increased efficiency within the power sector; and adoption of electricity pricing policies that more accurately reflect the cost of providing electricity to consumers – and give them the information they need to use it wisely.  . . .

At the same time, consumers’ ever-increasing appetite for electricity-hungry devices – even with continuing efficiency improvements – will keep electricity demand on a steady upward trajectory. A 42-inch plasma television consumes two and a half times more energy (250 watts) than a standard 27-inch TV (100 watts). And while many large household appliances have become more efficient over the years, many smaller devices have not. Two 30-watt set-top television boxes, for example, may consume as much electricity as a large refrigerator.

FYI: Nanomaterial Turns Radiation Directly into Electricity

According to an article in New Scientist, materials that directly convert radiation into electricity could produce a new era of spacecraft and even Earth-based vehicles powered by high-powered nuclear batteries, say US researchers.  . . .

The materials they are testing would extract up to 20 times more power from radioactive decay than thermoelectric materials, they calculate.  . . .

Tests of layered tiles of carbon nanotubes packed with gold and surrounded by lithium hydride are under way.  . . .

The tiles would be best used to create electricity using a radioactive material, says Liviu Popa-Simil, former Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear engineer and founder of private research and development company LAVM , because they could be embedded directly where radiation is greatest. But they could also harvest power directly from a fission reactor's radiation.

Devices based on the material could be small enough to power anything from interplanetary probes to aircraft and land vehicles, he adds.

Chilled Ammonia Carbon Capture Process to be Demonstrated

A pilot plant that uses chilled ammonia to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fueled power plants was launched by Alstom, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and We Energies, at We Energies’ Pleasant Prairie Power Plant in Wisconsin. Alstom designed, constructed and will operate the 1.7 MW system that captures CO2 from a portion of coal-fired boiler flue gas at the power plant, a 1,224 MW coal-fired generating station.

Alstom’s process uses chilled ammonia to capture CO2 and isolates it in a highly concentrated, high-pressure form. In laboratory testing it has demonstrated the potential to capture more than 90 percent of CO2 at a cost that is far less than other carbon capture technologies. Once captured, the CO2 can be used commercially or sequestered in suitable underground geologic sites.

“Developing cost-effective carbon capture technology is one of the most important environmental challenges facing the utility industry in the 21st century and it’s important that we take steps now to achieve a long-term technology solution”

-- Gale Klappa, Chairman, President and CEO of Wisconsin Energy, parent company of We Energies

This process sounds like one that could be fairly easily integrated into existing power plants and lead the way towards the government requiring carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) at all coal fired power plants.  Note that this project is being done with no government financing. Other technologies that are being developed and that have been reported on by TEB, include: ones using ZIFs, sodium hydroxide, or amine based solvents, another, I believe ambient temperature ammonia system, algae systems, and an e.coli system.  These processes are aimed at conventional coal fired plants.  IGCC and Oxyfuel plants isolate the CO2 as part of the processes so carbon capture is a much simpler process, but these plants cost more than conventional coal plants.  There is disagreement whether conventional plants with CCS or IGCC plants with just sequestration are the most economical and which plants will dominate the industry in the future.  In any case there is a huge number of existing conventional coal plants that need CCS, once legislation is passed requiring it.

Leading Wall Street Banks Establish The Carbon Principles

Guidelines to strengthen environmental and economic risk management in the financing and construction of electricity generation.

Three of the world's leading financial institutions announced the formation of The Carbon Principles, climate change guidelines for advisors and lenders to power companies in the United States. The need for these Principles is driven by the risks faced by the power industry as utilities, independent producers, regulators, lenders and investors deal with the uncertainties around regional and national climate change policy.

The Principles were developed in partnership by Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, and in consultation with leading power companies American Electric Power, CMS Energy, DTE Energy, NRG Energy, PSEG, Sempra and Southern Company. Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council, environmental non-governmental organizations, also advised on the creation of the Principles.

Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley have pledged their commitment to the Principles to use as a framework when talking about these issues with clients. This effort creates a consistent approach among major lenders and advisors in evaluating climate change risks and opportunities in the US electric power industry. The Principles and associated Enhanced Diligence represent a first step in a process aimed at providing banks and their power industry clients with a consistent roadmap for reducing the regulatory and financial risks associated with greenhouse gas emissions.

The Principles are:

FutureGen Scrapped, CCS to be Demonstrated on Multiple Clean Coal Power Plants

From a DOE announcement:

DOE announced a restructured approach to its FutureGen project that aims to demonstrate cutting-edge carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) clean coal power plants.

Under this strategy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will join industry in its efforts to build IGCC plants by providing funding for the addition of CCS technology to multiple plants that will be operational by 2015.  This approach builds on technological research and development advancements in IGCC and CCS technology achieved over the past five years and is expected to at least double the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered compared to the concept announced in 2003.  . . .

The Department today issued a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks industry’s input by March 3, 2008, on the costs and feasibility associated with building clean coal facilities that achieve the intended goals of FutureGen.  Following this period and consideration of industry comment, DOE intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement – or competitive solicitation – to provide federal funding under cooperative agreements to equip IGCC (or other clean coal technology) commercial power plants that generate at least 300 megawatts, with CCS technology aimed at accelerating near-term technology deployment.  . . .

Under this plan, DOE’s investment would provide funding for no more than the CCS component of the power plant – not the entire plant construction, compared with the FutureGen concept announced in 2003 where the federal government would incur 74% of rising costs.  This would allow for commercial operation of IGCC power plants equipped with CCS technology to begin as soon as the plants are commissioned, between 2015 and 2016.  . . .

The four sites – two in Illinois and two in Texas – evaluated in the Department’s Environmental Impact Statement issued in November 2007, including the site announced by the FutureGen Alliance in December 2007, Mattoon, IL, may be eligible to host a commercial-scale IGCC plant with CCS technology.

I think this approach is much better than the original, provided it does not delay the demonstration of CCS and the following legislation to require CCS, or equivalent technology, on future coal fired plants.

Shell CEO Presents Two Scenarios For the Future of Energy

The chief executive of Shell has posted this article on Shell's new energy scenarios. I was made aware of it by The Oil Drum, who first posted it at http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3548 and I thought it was worth repeating for your comments. They had a large number, 153, of mostly very insightful comments at the time of this posting. 

The article supports the peak oil theory, as I envision it. They defined it as the time that easy accessible oil will no longer be able to keep up with demand, their estimate being 2015.  I interpret that as meaning that heavy oil, as in the tar sands of Canada and the heavy oil in Venezuela, and oil shale are not significant sources of oil by 2015 and that their addition will cause significant increases in the price of oil which will have an effect on demand. The exact date is not that important, but it is meaningful that they predict a relatively near date, within the next 10 years.

They also predict that A growing number of cars are powered by electricity and hydrogen.  I think they underemphasize this important factor in reducing our consumption of oil, and believe that hydrogen will not play that important a role. I think a very aggressive development of PHEVs, EVs and biofuels combined with North Americas' (USA, Mexico and Canada) remaining reserves of oil should be able to supply all our needs to power our vehicles and have some expensive oil left over to export to other countries before 2100, hopefully by 2050.

The statements that more nuclear power will be required and that carbon capture and sequesteration (CCS) must be required on coal powered power plants in all developed countries are right in line with my thinking.  In the interim period, until renewable power can replace all aging nuclear and coal powered plants, these power sources will be required, no matter how much power is saved by increased efficiency in the home and in industry. From the economic point of view nuclear power has the clear advantage over coal when CCS is required on coal plants. However there is opposition to nuclear in some quarters and will be as long as the threats of proliferation and problems with waste disposal remain issues.  To me the ideal situation would be thorium fueled plants with fuel recycling.  However it will be a very long time before there is any consensus on that.

The complete text of the article, as appears on the Shell website, is given below. The bold facing is mine.

Two Energy Futures

* By Jeroen van der Veer

By 2100, the world’s energy system will be radically different from today’s. Renewable energy like solar, wind, hydroelectricity, and biofuels will make up a large share of the energy mix, and nuclear energy, too, will have a place. Humans will have found ways of dealing with air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. New technologies will have reduced the amount of energy needed to power buildings and vehicles.

Chinese "GreenGen" Power Plant with CCS

A little late in reporting, but still significant:

Peabody Energy (NYSE: BTU) became the only non-Chinese equity partner in "GreenGen," the first near-zero emissions coal-fueled power plant with carbon capture and storage (CCS) which is under development in China.  . . .

The US$1 billion GreenGen project will use advanced coal-based technologies to generate electricity for Chinese families and businesses using China's most abundant energy resource. It will be capable of hydrogen production and will advance carbon dioxide capture and storage, providing a clean energy prototype to address carbon dioxide concerns.  . . .

Led by managing partner China Huaneng Group, the GreenGen Company will design, develop and operate an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant near Tianjin, southeast of Beijing. A 250-megawatt plant will be built in the initial phase, expanding to 650-megawatts in later phases.

Project design and review is complete, a site has been selected at the Lingang Industrial Park, and construction is expected to commence in early 2008, with the first phase of the plant expected on line by 2009. The project includes multiple phases for additional generation and carbon capture.  . .

Noted in Passing: IEA Says Massive Investment in Alternative Electricity Generation to Reduce CO2 Emissions

The Telegraph.co.uk ran the following post:

The world needs to build 30 nuclear power stations and the equivalent of two Three Gorges dams every year to prevent dangerous climate change, the International Energy Agency has said.

It also needs to build 13,000 wind turbines and 40 coal and gas power stations fitted with carbon capture and storage technology each year between 2013 and 2030, the head of the Agency told the climate change conference in Bali. 

. . . an £11 trillion investment in alternative electricity generation technology was needed to meet the target of more than halving atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide by 2050.  . . .  More

Supergrid to Supply Europe with Wind Power

The Independent reports that a proposed supergrid could supply Europe with carbon free electricity primarily from wind power. The 5,000-mile electrical grid, stretching from Siberia to Morocco and Egypt to Iceland, would slash Europe's CO2 emissions by a quarter, scientists say.

The scheme would make the use of renewable energy, particularly wind power, so reliable and cheap that it would replace fossil fuels on an unprecedented scale, serving 1.1 billion people in 50 countries. Europe's 1.25bn tons of annual CO2 output from electricity generation would be wiped out. High-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines, up to 100 times as long as the alternating current (AC) cables carried by the National Grid's pylons, would form the system's main arteries. HVDC lines are three times as efficient, making them cost effective over distances above 50 miles.

Building the supergrid would require an investment of US$80bn (£40bn), plus the cost of the wind turbines – a fraction of the €1 trillion the EU expects to pay for a 20 per cent reduction of its carbon footprint by 2020. The average price of the electricity generated would be just 4.6 euro cents per kWh, competitive with today's rates, which are likely to rise as fossil fuels run out.  . . .

Kansas Turns Down Coal Power Plant Because of CO2 Emissions

An article in the Washington Post reports, on what could be a major decision in the fight against global warming, that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment became the first government agency in the United States to cite carbon dioxide emissions as the reason for rejecting an air permit for a proposed coal-fired electricity generating plant, saying that the greenhouse gas threatens public health and the environment. . . .

It may be the first of a series of similar state actions inspired by a Supreme Court decision in April that asserted that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide should be considered pollutants under the Clean Air Act. . . . more

Update, 12:34 am:

This is not the only coal plant in trouble, as this article in the Austin American Statemen reports:  At least 16 coal-fired power plant proposals nationwide have been scrapped in recent months and more than three dozen have been delayed as utilities face increasing pressure due to concerns over global warming and rising construction costs. . . . more

Update, 1:48 am:

In Energy and Capital Jeff Siegel wrote: This past Tuesday, American Electric Power Company agreed to a $4.6 billion settlement over pollution controls at its power plants. The company will also have to shell out $15 million in civil penalties and $60 million in cleanup and mitigation costs. . . . more

If this precedent is followed, and it will be cited by environmentalists in future applications for air quality permits for future coal powered power plants, we may not need additional legislation to require carbon capture and sequestration, unless a law is passed exempting carbon dioxide from the provisions of the Clean Air Act.  The later would be a very unpopular law with citizens and, I believe, from Democrats and without much support from Republicans in an election year.  Until this is straighted out in appeals courts, it looks like a big win for nuclear power and renewables as utilities will be less willing to take a chance on coal powered power plants. This will also be a big boon for wind power and thermal solar in the near future, until PV solar becomes more competitive. The fact is that coal power is getting more expensive as many other sources are becoming less expensive.

New Zealand Bans New Fossil Fueled Power Plants

Sometimes people agree with me.  Earlier today I made this comment on a previous post:

"If it was possible I would place a moratorium on building coal plants without CCS."

I swear I had not read or heard about this story.

From Bloomberg:

New Zealand electricity producers, including Contact Energy Ltd., will face a 10-year ban on the construction of new gas- or coal-fired generators to help the nation meet its Kyoto Protocol emission reduction targets. . . .

State-owned generators will be barred from building new gas-fired plants, and a decision on whether to extend the ban to Contact and other private generators will be made this year, Energy Minister David Parker said today.

New Zealand already produces about 70 percent of its power from non-polluting wind, hydro-electric and geothermal generators. The government wants to raise that to 90 percent by 2025 and is blocking construction of cheaper gas-fired power stations to speed investment in wind turbines and steamfields. (another word for geothermal I believe)

TECO Cancels IGCC Power Plant

Tampa Electric yesterday announced that it no longer plans to meet its 2013 need for baseload generation through the use of integrated gasification combined-cycle technology, or IGCC. Primary drivers of the decision announced today include continued uncertainty related to carbon dioxide (CO2) regulations, particularly capture and sequestration issues, and the potential for related project cost increases. Because of the economic risk of these factors to customers and investors, the company believes it should not proceed with an IGCC project at this time.

The company remains steadfast in its support of IGCC as a critical component of future fuel diversity in Florida and the nation, and believes the technology is the most environmentally responsible way to utilize coal, an affordable, abundant and domestically produced fuel. Tampa Electric is recognized as the world leader in the production of electricity from IGCC. The company also believes that IGCC technology offers the best platform to capture and then sequester CO2. Once public policy issues regarding long-term sequestration are resolved, demonstration projects can be conducted that will lead to a better understanding of the science, technologies and economics of sequestration.

“We believe there is a role for IGCC in Tampa Electric’s future generation plans, but with the uncertainty of carbon capture and sequestration regulations being discussed at the federal and state levels, the timing is not right to utilize it for a baseload facility needed by 2013. We are not prepared to expose our customers and shareholders to that risk.” - President Chuck Black

This is but one of the many coal fired power plants that have been either canceled or put on hold - but this is the first IGCC plant I have heard of that has been canceled.  Power companies are coming under more pressure to put in environmentally friendly power plants, but the government has not moved on any regulations that require any restriction on CO2 emissions.  Several power companies have said they would back carbon capture and sequestration requirements, but they do not want to put in such plants unless their is an even playing field regarding such requirements.

Perhaps the recent development of technologies that can be applied to conventional coal fired power plants is one consideration affecting their decision.  Nuclear power is probably the safest route to go as far as not having to worry about CO2 emissions, but its capital expense is still very high and even though the approval process has been simplified, that is yet to be demonstrated in the real world.  Natural gas is also a fairly safe route, but future costs of natural gas are quite uncertain.

Renewable energy, especially for large base load plants is not generally accepted as the answer.  I would think with TECO's load growing at 150 megawatts per year it might be possible to establish a policy of installing renewable energy incrementally to meet its needs.  Florida is situated where solar power, offshore wind and someday wave power might be considered.  By installing a mix of renewable energy technologies which have different time periods of peak output, the resulting power production is considerably leveled out to provide a more continuous flow of power.  Solar, with about four hours of storage, matches the peak load for most areas. The large load for air conditioning and a fairly small industrial load would seem to me to make a good case for solar power in Florida. Florida Power and Light recently made a commitment to solar power, so at least one utility thinks Florida is a suitable location for solar power.

American Electric Power to Install Six MW of NAS® Battery Storage

Installations will boost reliability, integrate wind generation, prepare for future; new batteries a step toward AEP’s goal of 1,000 megawatts of advanced storage

American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) annouced that it is expanding its use of large-scale battery technology on its electricity grid by installing six megawatts of sodium sulfur (NAS®) batteries for storage of electricity to enhance reliability, allow for continued load growth, provide support for weak sub-transmission systems, avoid equipment overload and to offset intermittent wind power.

AEP will be adding stationary sodium sulfur (NAS®) battery technology in its West Virginia and Ohio service territories next year. The company will also work with wind developers to identify a third location for NAS battery deployment next year, using the storage capability to help offset the intermittent nature of wind generation.

AEP has placed an order for the three new NAS batteries with NGK Insulators Ltd. of Japan, the manufacturer and co-developer, along with the Tokyo Electric Power Co., of the technology. AEP anticipates delivery in spring 2008.

According to the New York Times:

The cost is very high, $27 million for six megawatts of capacity, or about $4,500 a kilowatt, including the price of substation improvements. Building a gas turbine of that size to meet peak needs would cost substantially less. But the battery system would be able to store power made from wind, a form of generation that does not produce any carbon dioxide. . . .

The batteries can each deliver one megawatt of power — enough to run a medium-size shopping center — for a little more than seven hours. Replenished nightly, they give back about 80 percent of the electricity put into them. Each is the size of a double-decker bus, and installation is not permanent; they can be moved to another site as the need arises.

Powerspan Ammonia Based CO2 Capture to be Tested at Burger Plant

Powerspan Corp. and BP Alternative Energy have announced a collaborative agreement to develop and commercialize Powerspan's carbon dioxide (CO2) capture technology, called "ECO2(TM)" for power plants. The scope of the agreement includes financial and technical support for pilot demonstration and commercial scale-up activities, which may include joint development of large-scale demonstration projects that would capture CO2 from power station flue gas. The captured CO2 would be sent for secure, long-term storage deep underground. Use of ECO2 for large scale capture and storage of CO2 from power plants represents a major option for reducing greenhouse gases. It is expected that pilot plant testing will take place at FirstEnergy Corp.'s R.E. Burger plant in Shadyside, Ohio in early 2008.

The ECO2 process is a post-combustion CO2 capture process for conventional power plants. The technology is suitable for retrofit to the existing coal- fired, electric generating fleet as well as for new coal-fired plants. The regenerative process is readily integrated with Powerspan's patented Electro- Catalytic Oxidation, or ECO(R), process for multi-pollutant control of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, and fine particulate matter from power plants.

LSCF Tubes Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

LSCF tubes, tiny tubes made from an advanced ceramic material, have the remarkable property of being able to filter oxygen out of the air. If air were to be blown around the outside of an assembly of a large number of the tubes located in a gas fired power station, oxygen would pass through the wall of the tube to the inside, where it would combusts with methane gas that is being pumped through the of the tubes. By burning fuel in pure oxygen, it is possible to produce a stream of almost pure carbon dioxide, which has commercial potential for reprocessing into useful chemicals.

Engineers at Newcastle University in northern England, in collaboration with Imperial College London, have developed LSCF for potential use in reducing emissions for gas-fired power stations and possibly coal and oil-fired electricity generation as well. Conventional gas-fired power stations burn methane, the primary component of natural gas, in a stream of air, producing a mixture of nitrogen and greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are emitted into the atmosphere. Separating the gases is not practical because of the high cost and large amount of energy needed to do so.

However, the LSCF tubes  would allow only the oxygen component of air to reach the methane gas, resulting in the production of almost pure carbon dioxide and steam, which can easily be separated by condensing out the steam as water.

Low-Swirl Combustion Cleans the Air

A unique type of clean-burning combustion technology called, low-swirl injection (LSI), for fuel-flexible near-zero-emission gas turbines, developed by Robert Cheng and David Littlejohn of Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division, along with scientists from San Diego-based Solar Turbines. The technology is now entering the marketplace after years of research and development.

LSI  technology, recently won a 2007 R&D 100 award for 2007 from R&D magazine as one of the top 100 new technologies of the year.

LSI is a technology that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from gas turbines used to produce electricity, or from any stationary combustion system in which it is incorporated.  Burners using this technology produce 10 to 100 times lower emissions of nitrogen oxides than conventional burners, making it easier and more economical for industries to meet clean air requirement.

In the 1980s, new combustion technologies reduced nitrogen oxides (NOx) from more than 100 parts per million (ppm) to the current standard of less than 25 ppm. Now, the low swirl Injector emits less than 2 ppm. It is the only technology that can affordably reduce NOx emissions to this near-zero level.

Energy and Efficiency: Utilities Global Survey 2007

Power companies worldwide expect generation and utilisation of wind energy and nuclear energy to increase substantially in the next five years, says a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report released on Thursday.

The ninth annual PwC report, based on responses from 114 power companies in 44 countries, warns however, that regulatory reform, as well as large investments in energy efficient technology are essential to overcome the existing power shortages. Climate change appears to have cemented its place in utility company strategy.

FutureGen Engineering and Construction Management Firm Selected

The FutureGen Alliance has selected Washington Group International (NYSE: WNG) to provide architectural, design, and engineering support services for the FutureGen initiative. The $1 billion project is an approximate 275-megawatt Integrated (coal) Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant that will will generate hydrogen to produce electricity while capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, deep underground.

The project includes development of a large-scale engineering laboratory and research platform for evaluating and testing new technologies for the conversion of coal to fuel gases, for the capture of carbon dioxide, and for the clean production of power.

The initial technology selection, design, and engineering work is scheduled for completion in March 2008.

As the engineering and construction management provider, Washington Group International will assist the Alliance in the evaluation and selection of technologies for coal gasification and for gas and power generation, as well as integrate the selected technologies and packages for the processes across the facility.

The FutureGen Initial Conceptual Design Report, May 2007, describes the project’s objectives and the conceptual design for the entire FutureGen project, including the technical activities that will lead to design, construction and operation of the plant, and the management approaches that will direct and fund those technical activities.

Site selection has been narrowed down to two sites in Illlinois and two in Texas with final site selection scheduled for late 2007. 

The facility is scheduled to go online by 2012.

My previous post "About IGCC Power Plants" has a more detailed description of IGCC power plants.

Who Need Wires?

MIT team experimentally demonstrates wireless power transfer, potentially useful for powering laptops, cell phones without cords.

From MIT news - Realizing their recent theoretical prediction, MIt researchers were able to light a 60W light bulb from a power source seven feet (> two meters) away; there was no physical connection between the source and the appliance. The MIT team refers to its concept as "WiTricity" (as in wireless electricity). The work was reported in the June 7 issue of Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science.

Shown left-Wireless power transfer over two-meter distance, with approximately 40% efficiency, from the coil on the left to the coil on the right, where it powers a 60W light bulb. Members of the team that performed the experiment are obstructing the direct line of sight between the coils.

WiTricity is based on using coupled resonant objects. Two resonant objects of the same resonant frequency tend to exchange energy efficiently, while interacting weakly with extraneous off-resonant objects. A child on a swing is a good example of this. A swing is a type of mechanical resonance, so only when the child pumps her legs at the natural frequency of the swing is she able to impart substantial energy.

Another example involves acoustic resonances: Imagine a room with 100 identical wine glasses, each filled with wine up to a different level, so they all have different resonant frequencies. If an opera singer sings a sufficiently loud single note inside the room, a glass of the corresponding frequency might accumulate sufficient energy to even explode, while not influencing the other glasses. In any system of coupled resonators there often exists a so-called "strongly coupled" regime of operation. If one ensures to operate in that regime in a given system, the energy transfer can be very efficient.

Coal Power Limited in California

The Los Angeles Times reported that the state of California  had acted to limit use of coal power. The California Energy Commission on Wednesday imposed new rules that effectively forbid the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and all other municipal utilities in the state from signing new contracts with coal-fired power plants.

California has largely phased out coal-fired generators within its borders, but the state still buys about 20% of its electricity from coal-fueled power plants in other states.

The maximum emissions allowed under the new rules are 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour of electricity. This rule would, in effect, require coal-fired power plants to use sequestration technology that would pipe carbon dioxide into underground repositories in order to keep selling power to California.

This is one way to make power plants minimize their CO2 emissions.  A rather drastic step that could not be carried out nationwide. I would be in favor of a law that would require all new plants to sequester their CO2 and existing plants to employ sequestration over a period of years. California gets most of their power from other sources and the impact of this rule will be to encourage more renewable power generation which would not be practical in other parts of the country that, on the average, get 50% of their electricity from coal power plants.

AMSC to Develop and Deploy "Secure Super Grid" Technology for Con Edison in NYC

American Superconductor Corporation (AMSC) (NASDAQ: AMSC) and Consolidated Edison, Inc. (Con Ed) (NYSE: ED) have teamed with the Department of Homeland Security on a project to protect New York's power grid with surge suppressing superconductor cable technology.

Work has started on what is expected to be a $39.3 million project for Con Ed to develop and deploy new high temperature superconductor (HTS) power grid technology in Con Ed’s network in New York City. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is expected to invest up to $25 million in the development of this technology to enable “Secure Super Grids” in the United States. Secure Super Grids utilize customized HTS wires, HTS power cables and ancillary controls to deliver more power through the grid while also being able to suppress power surges that can disrupt service.

Concurrently AMSC introduced a new surge-suppressing, high-capacity superconductor power grid technology – a system-level solution that increases the capacity of power grids while also being able to rapidly suppress power surges. This technology is expected to significantly enhance the capacity, security and efficiency of electric power infrastructures in urban and metropolitan areas around the world, enabling “Secure Super Grids.”

Many companies around the world including AMSC have been working to develop stand-alone superconductor fault current limiters that are capable of suppressing power surges – or “fault currents” – to prevent damage to expensive electrical equipment in today’s power grids. AMSC’s Secure Super Grids technology is the first to combine the benefits of high capacity HTS cables and fault current limiters in one system, providing compelling space and cost advantages, particularly for urban and metropolitan areas. AMSC expects the global market for this technology and stand-alone fault current limiters will exceed a billion dollars annually.

Southern California Edison Proposes Clean Hydrogen Power Generation to Reduce GHG Emissions

According to a press release dated May 17, Edison International’s (NYSE:EIX) electricity utility, Southern California Edison (SCE), has requested approval to build and test a commercial 600 MW power plant to determine the feasibility of a new combination of several advanced “clean” coal technologies in an effort to advance these emerging approaches to low-carbon generation. 

Their proposal consist of:

• A gasifier that combines coal and steam with a controlled amount of oxygen under high pressures to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
• Converting the carbon monoxide to additional hydrogen and carbon dioxide in the shift conversion.
• Further processing the gasses to remove sulfur, mercury, and carbon dioxide. 
• Sequestering the carbon in a depleted oil formation, enabling enhanced oil recovery, or in a deep saline formation.
• Producing a mostly hydrogen fuel, emitting only 10 percent of the carbon released by an integrated gasification combined-cycle coal project without carbon capture.
• The hydrogen is fed to gas turbines where electricity is generated.
• Exhaust heat from the gas turbines is used to create steam and drive additional turbines.
• The use of these technologies in a full-scale, 600-megawatt (MW) commercial generating facility.

Next Generation Superconducting Cable Tested

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) and Nexans, the worldwide leader in the cable industry, have successfully tested the world’s first power transmission cable made with second generation (2G) high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire. The cable was produced by Nexans utilizing AMSC’s proprietary 2G HTS wire known as “344 superconductors.” 344 superconductors are AMSC's new 3 ply, 4.4 mm wide second generation HTS wires.

This 30-meter-long, transmission-voltage cable was tested at a Nexans high-voltage facility in Hannover, Germany. Operated at 138,000 volts (138kV), the cable contained only 33 hair-thin 344 superconductors, yet it demonstrated the capability to transmit 435 mega-volt-amperes (MVA) of power – enough electricity to power over 250,000 homes.

AMSC’s 344 superconductors were designed as a drop-in replacement for customers currently using 1G HTS wire. The 344 superconductors comprise 2G HTS wire clad with ultra-thin strips of copper or stainless steel. 344 superconductors offer significantly higher power density and efficiency compared with similar copper-based wire products. As a result, electrical systems that incorporate HTS wire are dramatically smaller, lighter and more cost effective than comparable systems based on copper wire. The applications for HTS wire include power transmission and distribution cables, propulsion motors and generators, degaussing cable systems, synchronous condensers and fault current limiters.

Vehicle to Grid Technology Demonstrated

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (NYSE: PCG) announced that they are the first utility to publicly demonstrate the power of electric vehicles to supply homes and businesses with electricity, showcasing the first-ever utility Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology demonstration, the reverse flow of energy from the vehicle back to the outlet, during the Silicon Valley Leadership Group Alternative Energy Solutions Summit.

V2G technology allows for the bi-directional sharing of electricity between Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicles (PHEVs) and the electric power grid. The technology turns each vehicle into a power storage system, increasing power reliability and the amount of renewable energy available to the grid during peak power usage.

In addition to reducing energy costs, V2G technology could provide the ability for customers to sell back energy to the utility during hot afternoons when demand is highest and most costly to avoid blackouts. During these periods, energy is worth several times more than overnight when vehicles charge. Vehicle owners will select a price threshold at which they are willing to sell energy, and when the price reaches this point the utility will be able to automatically draw energy out of the vehicle, leaving enough for the drive home if necessary. The utility's customers would then earn credit in the amount of energy used by the utility toward their monthly energy bill.

AEP Signs Two MOUs for Technologies to Reduce CO2 Emissions

American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP) announced two significant memorandums of understanding (MOU) regarding technologies that would reduce CO2 emissions from coal powered electric power plants.

The first MOU is with Babcock and Wilcox Company, a unit of McDermott International, Inc.(NYSE: MDR) to pursue the viability of retrofitting power plants with oxy-coal combustion (oxycombustion) to existing power plants to reduce CO2 and other emissions. Under the terms of the MOU the companies will assess the application of oxy-coal combustion as a retrofit to an existing AEP plant, and work toward the development of the first oxy-coal commercial validation project in the United States.

The second MOU is with Alstom (Paris: ALS) to bring Alstom’s chilled ammonia process for CO2 capture to full commercial scale of up to 200 MW by 2011. The technology has the great advantage versus other technologies of being fully applicable not only for new power plants, but also for the retrofit of existing coal-fired power plants.

B&W Oxy-Coal Combustion

Oxy-coal combustion uses pure oxygen for the combustion of coal in electricity generating plants. In this system, nitrogen that comes in with the air for the combustion process is eliminated. As a result, the exhaust gas is a relatively pure stream of CO2 that is ready for capture and sequestration or alternate uses such as enhanced oil recovery. Use of this technology is expected to result in near-zero emissions from coal-fired electric-generating facilities. B&W has established a collaboration agreement with American Air Liquide, Inc. for the continued development of the technology.

High Temperature Superconductor Research

A superconductor is a material that conducts electricity with almost no resistance. High-temperature superconductors (HTC) are conductors that superconduct at temperatures much “warmer” than conventional superconductors (although still very cold) — for example, -300°F rather than -460°F.  This difference, while not huge, is enough to make HTCs more viable for practical applications than materials that must be kept much colder. HTCs are important to creating superconductor-based electric and power-delivery devices, such as power transmission lines, motors, and generators.

HTCs are starting to be introduced into service as reported in this previous post.  Much research remains to be done in order to make this a more economical technology.  This post reports on the latest efforts to this end being conducted at the Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Unlocking the Secrets of High-temperature Superconductors
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Press release, March, 7, 2007

Although it was discovered more than 20 years ago, a particular type of HTC is regaining the attention of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory. Copper-oxide compounds, called cuprates, operate at temperatures warmer than traditional superconductors but still far below freezing.

Pulverized Coal vs IGCC

Two recent newspaper articles discuss the arguments as to whether pulverized coal or IGCC power plants are the better coal fired power plants to build, in the context of suitability to control greenhouse gas emissions.

A February 21 article in the New York Times sums up the arguments as follows:

Environmentalists are worried, but they put their faith in a technology that gasifies the coal before burning. Such plants are designed, they say, to be more adaptable to separating the carbon and storing it underground.

Most utility officials counter that the gasification approach is more expensive and less reliable, but they say there is no need to worry because their tried-and-true method, known as pulverized coal, can also be equipped later with hardware to capture the global warming gas.

Australia Bans Incandescent Lightbulbs

Australia to Change Lightbulbs to Curb Warming
Reuters via Planet Ark, February 21, 2007

Australia will be the world's first country to ban incandescent lightbulbs in a bid to curb Greenhouse gas emissions, with the government saying on Tuesday they would be phased out within three years.

Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said yellow incandescent bulbs, which have been in use virtually unchanged for 125 years, would be replaced by more efficient compact fluorescent bulbs by 2009.

New Transmission Line to Bring Wind Energy to all of Texas

Airtricity backed consortia to energise Texas with 4,200MW of wind energy via new $1.5 billion transmission loop
Airtricity press release, February 19, 2007

A consortia backed by Airtricity [an Irish renewable energy company developing wind farms] today announced its commitment to the construction of a ground-breaking electricity transmission ‘loop’ in the Texas Panhandle Plains region. The ‘Panhandle Loop’ will be a revolutionary 800-mile transmission project bringing 4,200MW of wind energy to the Texas Panhandle. ...

The scale of this project is unprecedented ... the 345k V loop will enable the entire state of Texas to benefit from wind generated energy ... by 2010. ... [In addition to the wind energy] the loop will result in the investment of over $10 billion in new generating capacity, including 2,000MW of gas-fired power and 1,800MW of coal-fired power. ...

This is an example of the size of transmission projects required to bring the benefits of wind power to populated areas.  The resulting construction of fossil fueled power plants is surprising -- is this an indication of the amount of back-up power required for the wind plants or just an indication of the need for more power in the region? I suspect the later.

Purdue Researchers Develop "Tactical Biorefinery"

Scientists Develop Portable Generator That Turns Trash Into Electricity

By Douglas M Main, Purdue University, Feb. 1, 2007

A group of scientists have created a portable refinery that efficiently converts food, paper and plastic trash into electricity. The machine, designed for the U.S. military, would allow soldiers in the field to convert waste into power and could have widespread civilian applications in the future said Michael Ladisch, a Purdue University professor who leads the project, shown here with the "tactical biorefineary", 

"In a very short time it should be ready for use in the military, and I think it could be used outside the military shortly thereafter" said Ladisch.

The "tactical biorefinery" processes several kinds of waste at once, which it converts into fuel via two parallel processes. The system then burns the different fuels in a diesel engine to power a generator. Ladisch said the machine's ability to burn multiple fuels at once, along with its mobility, make it unique.

Financing Plan for Renewables Transmission Lines

California ISO Asks Federal Government to Back New Plan for ''Greening the Grid''

California ISO, press release, January 25, 2007

In a precedent-setting move that could have national implications, the California Independent System Operator Corporation (California ISO) filed today with its regulator, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to approve in concept a financing plan for transmission trunklines to remote locations in order to get green power from multiple users onto the grid. ...

If the new payment mechanism is approved and implemented, it would be a first-of-its-kind means of removing financial barriers that can hinder development of wind, solar, geothermal ... renewable energy resources. ...

“We don’t have a choice as to where these natural resources are located,” said Rich Ferguson research director for the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies. “If we’re going to use these assets to offset less environmentally friendly types of power generation, we need to be able to build the transmission lines that reach those remote locations.” ...

This press release points out very well one of the big problems that renewable energy power plants have in becoming a larger factor in competing with conventional power sources. Even larger problems are expanding the grid so that power can be transmitted to widely separated geographical areas. How these costs should be passed on to the consume, must be determined before financing these projects can go foreword.

Unfortunately affordable high temperature superconducting (HTS) transmission cables are still years away from widespread use, even though significant progress is being made. See Amercan Superconductor Reports Out sanding Progress, ACCC (Aluminum Conductor Composite Core) cable and Second Generation Superconducting Cable Energized, for some of the developments being made in newer technologies for our transmission lines.

 

ThermoEnergy Recieves $1.5 million for Emission Free Power Plant

ThermoEnergy Corporation (OTCBB:TMEN) has received recent funding, through the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), of a US$1.5 million grant by the US EPA to design, build and operate an initial prototype of the company's patented zero air emission power plant design known as the ThermoEnergy Integrated Power System, or TIPS. This prototype plant, which will be housed at the Canadian energy laboratory (CANMET) in Ottawa, will provide the process data the company needs for the design and construction of a commercial scale multi-megawatt demonstration facility in 2009.

"A successful TIPS development program could significantly change the way in which coal-rich countries such as the US, China and India generates power from their vast resources," said Dennis C. Cossey, CEO of ThermoEnergy Corporation. "Excessive airborne emissions of NOx, SOx, mercury, particulates and CO2 from coal-fired power plants will become a thing of the past."

American Superconductor to Aquire Windtec

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), best known for its high temperature superconducting products, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Windtec, a private company based in Klagenfurt, Austria that develops and licenses proprietary wind turbine system designs, and sells wind turbine electrical systems. The all-stock transaction, worth $12.4 million, is expected to close in January 2007. Including Windtec, next year's revenues for AMSC's Power Electronic Systems Business Unit is expected to more than double to approximately $50 million. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings beginning in its first full quarter of operations.

Windtec designs a wide variety of wind turbine systems from the ground up, and in certain cases licenses these designs to third parties for an upfront fee and royalty payments for each installation of a Windtec-designed wind turbine system. They provide development, design, calculation, optimization and certification of complete wind turbines or individual components.

So. Calif. Cities Opt for Cleaner Power

Several Southern California cities are gambling their future power needs on the development of sufficient alternative energy sources, such as wind power, solar power and power from IGCC power plants to meet their needs.  Currently these sources are either too intermittent, too costly, or not well enough developed to meet their needs.

Anaheim, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Riverside, and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power have told Intermountain Power Agency in Delta, Utah, that they would not be renewing their contracts for cheap, coal-fired power. They are instead going to seek cleanear alternative energy power sources by 2027, after their current contracts with the Utah company expire.

A new California law that effectively prohibits electricity purchases from conventional coal-fired power plants goes into effect January first and Intermountain had been pushing cities to renew their contracts ahead of that date in a move to circumvent the law, but these cities refused to budge. The law bans use of power from sources that generate more such gases than in-state natural gas plants. 

First IGCC Plant for UK

A edie news story (UK) reports that A 'clean coal' plant that would capture and bury most of its carbon emissions could become the first coal-fueled power station to be built in the UK since the seventies, under plans announced by British Gas owner Centrica.

Carbon from the Teesside plant would be pumped for storage under the North Sea.

The £1bn plant would produce almost zero emissions and would be the first in the UK  built with carbon capture and storage (CCS), according to Centrica.

The Teesside plant would produce a sixth of the carbon emissions of a traditional coal-fired power station, and capture over 80% of it, giving overall carbon emissions equivalent to less than 4% of those of a traditional coal plant.

The plant would use the "integrated gasification combined cycle" (IGCC) process, which has not been used before in the UK. This process enables capture of a particularly high portion of both the criteria emissions and CO2. IGCC involves crushing coal into a powder, gasifying the coal, and carbon capture before burning the gas for production of electricity.

Amercan Superconductor Reports Outsanding Progress

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) is the world's principal vendor of high temperature superconductor (HTS) wire and large rotating superconductor machinery, and it is a world-leading supplier of dynamic reactive power grid stabilization products. AMSC’s HTS wire and power electronic converters are at the core of a broad range of new electricity transmission and distribution, transportation, medical and industrial processing applications, including dynamic reactive power grid stabilization solutions, large ship propulsion motors and generators, smart, controllable, superconductor power cables and advanced defense systems.

The company reported financial results and accomplishments for its fiscal second quarter ended September 30, 2006 and provided an insight to activities in the last half of FY 2007.

Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 were $9.6 million, and the company’s net loss was $7.0 million, or $0.21 per share. Revenues for the second quarter of the previous fiscal year were $10.9 million, and the company’s net loss was $6.8 million, or $0.21 per share.

The company ended the second quarter of fiscal 2007 with no debt and $46.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments compared to $65.7 million on March 31, 2006.

The company’s total backlog of orders and contracts more than doubled to $42.6 million on September 30, 2006, compared to the $18.4 million in backlog as of September 30, 2005, plus several new contracts and orders received in October, which totaled $6.2 million .

U.S. Electrical Transmission System Becoming Outdated

A Fitch Investment report states that strains on the U.S. power delivery system are beginning to show with the current system characterized by aging infrastructure, significant underinvestment and outdated technologies.

There are concerns regarding both reliability and capacity. With integrated regulated utilities as traditional owners of transmission (following a period of corporate restructuring and industry deregulation in many states coinciding with a period of financial stress for many utilities), the transmission system has been both underinvested and, as many believe, not adequately maintained.

In the last decade most transmission investments were made to meet additional demand rather than maintaining the existing system. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 70% of the transmission lines are 25 years or older, 70% of power transformers are 25 years or older and 60% of circuit breakers are more than 30 years old.

Pulverized Coal vs Coal Gasification

Some 154 new coal-fired plants are on the drawing board in 42 states. Should power companies be permitted to build new plants that pollute more but are reliable and less expensive? Or should regulators push utilities toward cleaner burning coal plants, even if it means they will cost more and are based on newer, yet still unproven, technology?

These are the points that an online article by Time/CNN discuses. The discussion is focused on whether pulverized coal units or coal gasification plants should be built. The article states that coal gasification plants are 20% more expensive to build, "but they also can be more efficient to operate and save utilities the hassle and expense of adding pollution-control devices." Not quite correct, in that pulverized coal plants can be built to clean coal standards, but gasification plants can achieve even lower emissions of criteria pollutants.  Gasification plants can be adapted to carbon (CO2) capture much less expensively than pulverized coal plants but at a cost more than the 20% factor which does not include carbon capture. However gasificaction plants produce about 33% less CO2 emisions due to their higher efficiency. I would disagree with the premise stated above that gasification technology is unproven, although not proven to the extent that pulverized coal plants are. A few gasification plants are under construction and several are under development. The article does not discuss whether renewable energy or nuclear energy should be considered. The two main points of the discussion are illustrated by these two exerpts from the article:

FuelCell Energy Receives Award for Coal-Based Multi-Megawatt SOFC

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqNM:FCEL), has finalized terms with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for a $36.2 million Phase I award to develop a coal-based, multi-megawatt solid oxide fuel cell-based hybrid system.

The program’s overall objective is to develop solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology, fueled by coal synthesis gas (coal gas) that will be used in highly-efficient central generation power plant facilities. The system is to have an overall efficiency of at least 50 % in converting energy contained in coal to grid electrical power, in contrast to the approximately 35 % efficiency of today’s average U.S. coal-based power plant.

The envisioned SOFC-hybrid system is expected to capture 90 percent or more of the system’s carbon dioxide emissions for environmentally safe disposal while being cost-competitive with other base load power generating technologies. The project will culminate with the fabrication and operation of a multi-MW proof-of-concept SOFC-hybrid power plant at a suitable location, using coal-derived synthesis gas as fuel. FuelCell Energy may consider submitting the project to the FutureGen Alliance Inc. for possible inclusion in the FutureGen Power Plant.

Hybrid Energy System

Fuel Cell Works reports that researchers from the University of Minnesota-Rochester and Rochester Public Utilities are developing a Hybrid Energy System combining a fuel cell and a geothermal heating/cooling system to find out how much better they are in tandem. The hybrid system captures the heat from the fuel cell exhaust and can either circulate it through the geothermal system or stores it in an antifreeze-like solution in underground tanks. Testing is scheduled to start next month.

Pressurized Oxy-fuel System has no Pollutants and Captures CO2

ThermoEnergy Corporation  (OTCBB:TMEN - News) is developing a pressurized oxy-fuel approach known as the ThermoEnergy Integrated Power System (TIPS) which is a process designed to produce energy (electricity, steam) from coal, with integral carbon capture as liquid CO2 and near zero air emissions. Pressurized oxy-fuel technology addresses two major issues affecting the future use of the country’s coal resource. These are:

1. Economic capture of criteria and toxic pollutants (such as mercury) from the diverse power and steam generators needed, and
2. Economic capture of CO2 from the larger power and steam generators used by utilities and large industrial facilities.

Once it is commercially deployed, TIPS will revolutionize the way the world generates energy from hydrocarbons. Based on reliable oxy-fuel chemistry, TIPS departs from the traditional oxy-fuel approach by pressurizing the entire combustion system.  Because the process operates at an elevated pressure it is able to use gas-to-liquid steam-hydroscrubbing to collect and remove pollutants, including NOx, SOx, mercury, particulates and CO2, and recover latent heat from water entrained or produced in the combustion process at efficiencies comparable to those of conventional large-scale combustion technologies. The pollutants are recovered via direct condensation and can be sold as commodity products. The pressurized oxy-fuel approach also enables CO2 to be recovered as a pressurized liquid through direct condensation. Emerging improvements to oxygen separation technology will significantly improve the economics of oxy-fuel processes.

Efficient Fuel Cell Hybrid Power Plant to be Built

Energie Baden-Württemberg AG (EnBW) and Siemens Power Generation (PG) are joining forces to build a highly efficient fuel cell hybrid power plant. Plans call for the construction of a megawatt-class demonstration plant. The goal of this research project is to convert up to 70% of the fuel energy into electricity.

The efficiency of this hybrid process is significantly greater than that of modern gas and steam turbine power plants, which can reach an efficiency approroaching 60 percent. This hybrid power plant combines a high-temperature fuel cell with a gas turbine in order to make more efficient use of the fuel and minimize emissions.

In solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), an electrochemical reaction, directly and very efficiently, converts fuel energy into electricity and heat. In this hybrid power plant, the hot exhaust gases exiting the fuel cell are fed into the gas turbine, thereby reducing or totally eliminating the fuel consumption of the turbine. The gas turbine makes it possible to operate the fuel cell at increased gas pressure, which makes it more efficient.

ACCC (Aluminum Conductor Composite Core) cable

A new kind of electric power transmission cable is starting to be used by electric utilities.

ACCC (Aluminum Conductor Composite Core) cable, as developed by Composite Technology Corporation (CTC) (OTC Bulletin Board: CPTC), can double the current carrying capacity over existing transmission and distribution cable and can dramatically increase system reliability by virtually eliminating high-temperature sag.

Growing energy demand and an aging electricity infrastructure underscore the urgent need for new and upgraded transmission lines. Sagging and over-utilized power lines are increasingly becoming bottlenecks for electrical distribution systems. Despite catastrophic system failures and seasonal symptoms such as rolling brownouts, efforts to expand or improve transmission systems invariably stall due to the limited options available to utilities and government. With the power grid load up 35% in the last decade and only an 18% growth in grid capacity (source: EPRI), utility industry problems are going to continue to multiply.

BP Executive Draws Attention to Climate Change

Vivienne Cox, BP Chief Executive, Gas, Power & Renewables gave a speech on Sept. 27 to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council entitled "Why Clean Electricity Is Critical in Combating Climate Change- Steps to Accelerate America's Low Carbon Power Economy."  Some exerpts from her speech are alarming, bring attention the seriousness of our CO2 emmissions and explain what BP is planning to do about them.

The power sector is the world's single largest source of CO2 emissions. Globally, and in the United States it accounts for over 40% of these emissions. That's twice the level of CO2 emissions from the transport sector. ... A recent study projected that global CO2 emissions will be around 75% higher than they are today by 2030. ...  One projection by Cambridge Energy Research Associates indicates that power will contribute 50% of total global emissions by 2030 - if there are no significant policy interventions. ... We have bought a wind developer Greenlight. ... Greenlight has a pipeline of 39 development projects across the US with a total potential capacity of 6.5GW. ...

GE Ships First 60-hertz 7H Gas Turbine

GE Energy's first 60-hertz 7H gas turbine, one of the most efficient and advanced machines of its type in the world, has completed testing and is on its way to the Inland Empire Energy Center near Riverside, California. A few 50-hertz units have been sold in Europe but this will be the first installation of 60-hertz H System(TM) technology.

The 7H is the world's first combined-cycle platform with the capability to reach 60+ percent thermal efficiency.

The 7H, the first of two units planned for the 775-megawatt Inland Empire project, was shipped from GE's Greenville, South Carolina facility on September 15. Operating on natural gas, the two GE 107 H combined-cycle units at Inland Empire will produce enough power to supply nearly 600,000 households while reducing future carbon dioxide emissions by more than 146,000 tons a year, compared to a typical gas-fired power plant of a similar size. The new power plant is expected to enter commercial service by the summer of 2008.

Second Generation Superconducting Cable Energized

Per press release (edited) and supercables website. A $9 million dollar 200 meters (660 feet) long second-generation high temperature superconducting (HTS) cable was energized on Sept 18 near Columbus, Ohio. The cable is used to efficiently deliver electric power to approximately 8,600 homes and businesses in suburban Columbus through American Electric Power's (AEP) Bixby substation in Groveport, Ohio.

Superconducting cables, operating at extremely low temperatures, eliminate virtually all resistance to the flow of electric current. One Triax HTS cable can carry as much current as 18 large copper cables, with much less energy loss. Although called high-temperature, this HTS system operates at temperatures just below the boiling point of liquid nitrogen (-321 degrees Fahrenheit).

As shown in the illustration, the Triax design places the three phase conductors (red) concentrically around a common central core. The three superconducting phases separated by a thin, 15 kV-class, electrical insulation material (yellow), Cryoflex™.  Thus there is only one cooling pipe (dark grey), and the voltage that the dielectric  has to withstand is the full phase to phase voltage. The advantage to the design is that it is ultra-compact, and uses the least amount of superconductor.

A Power Grid for the Hydrogen Economy

An article describing a cryogenic, superconducting "SuperGrid" that would simultaneously deliver electrical power and hydrogen fuel is featured in the July issue of Scientific American.com.

The August 14, 2003 power failure that affected 48 million inhabitants of New York, northeastern US and Ontario and an even more extensive blackout that affected 56 million people in Italy and Switzerland a month later--called attention to the susceptibility of our power grids to failure.  A more fundamental limitation of our grid is that it is poorly suited to handle the relentless growth in demand for electrical energy and the coming transition away from fossil-fueled power stations and vehicles to cleaner sources of electricity and transportation fuels.  The following is but a sampling of the information in the report, which you may want to read, to fully understand the problem and the authors solution.

The authors are part of a growing group of engineers and physicists who have begun developing designs for a new energy delivery system they call the Continental SuperGrid. They envision the SuperGrid evolving gradually alongside the current grid, strengthening its capacity and reliability. Over the course of decades, the SuperGrid would put in place the means to generate and deliver not only plentiful, reliable, inexpensive and "clean" electricity but also hydrogen for energy storage and personal transportation.

Super-Grid links crossing several time zones and weather boundaries would allow power plants to tap excess nighttime capacity to meet the peak electricity needs of distant cities. By smoothing out fluctuations in demand, the low-loss grid could help reduce the need for new generation construction.

The Super-Grid could go a long way, too, toward removing one of the fundamental limitations to the large-scale use of inconstant energy from wind, tides, waves and sunlight.

Oxyfuel Pilot Plant Groundbreaking

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall inaugurated construction site of the world's first CO2-free coal-fired power plant, a 30 MW Oxyfuel pilot plant (previous post), scheduled to go into operation in 2008.  Vattenfall, has invested 50 million euros ($65 million) in the facility, which will emit no greenhouse gases.

The plant uses the Oxyfuel Oxyfuel process which burns coal in a pure oxygen environment producing a flue gas that is mostly carbon dioxide and water.  The water can be condensed and the remaining nearly pure carbon dioxide collected for sequestration.

One of the biggest advantages of the new process is the availability of coal, stocks of which in Germany should last for another century. However their are a few drawbacks to the process, for one,  the efficiency is lower than in conventional coal plants. Traditional coal plants can run as high as 45 percent efficiency (maybe in Europe but not in the U.S.), while the the Oxyfuel process, is about 35 percent efficient.  Experts estimate the costs for separating and storing a ton of CO2 at from 25 to 40 euros which is less expensive than other methods of CO2 capture and storage, which in part makes up for the low efficiency of the process.

If the technology works once the pilot plant is built, Vattenfall wants to build a 300-megawatt facility by around 2015. Estimates are that the technology could be commercially viable by  around 2020.

Resource: Germany Breaks Ground on First Non-Polluting Coal Power Plant, Deutsche Welle, April 29, 2006

Powerspan & FirstEnergy Pilot Carbon Capture & Sequestration Process

Powerspan Corp.,  who develops and commercializes clean energy technologies for power companies, and FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), an electric power generation company, are cooperating to demonstrate both carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and sequestration at FirstEnergy's coal-fired power R.E. Burger Plant in Shadyside, OH.

Last week, FirstEnergy announced that it had been selected to test carbon sequestration by the Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP), one of seven regional partnerships set up by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to research carbon sequestration projects throughout the country. The Burger Plant test project will involve geological site characterization to determine potential suitability for carbon sequestration in the area.  If test results prove favorable, next steps involve obtaining permits required to drill a test well, followed by injection of a small amount of CO2 into the well.

Concurrently, Powerspan is developing a CO2 removal process, called "ECO2™", for coal-based power plants. This regenerative process uses an ammonia-based solution to capture CO2 in flue gas and prepare it for subsequent sequestration; after regeneration the ammonia solution is recycled to capture additional CO2. Powerspan has conducted initial laboratory testing at the company's research & development facility, with promising results. In September 2005, FirstEnergy announced plans to pilot test the CO2 capture process beginning in late 2006 at the Burger Plant.

IGCC, Conventional Coal Power Plants Debated

A recent article in the New York Times discussed the plans of electric power generators to build either integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants or more conventional pulverized coal power plants.  The issue centers around the ability of IGCC power plants to be easily converted to capture the carbon dioxide for sequestration vs the lower cost to build the more conventional plants.

A relatively small group headed by American Electric Power, the nation's largest electric utility, are planning to build IGCC power plants, while most of the industry including Peabody energy, the largest private coal producer who are not comfortable with the technology or the costs of IGCC.  The IGCC plants costs 15 to 20% more to build but would be far less expensive to retrofit for carbon capture if limits are placed on global warming emissions. About a dozen of the 140 planned coal-fired power plants in the U.S. expect to use the newer technology.

Both technologies can reduce criteria emissions to below standards, the question is whether and, if so, when will controls be placed on global warming gases.